Contract electronics manufacturer Pegatron Corp (和碩) remains cautiously optimistic about demand for its main businesses this year as it anticipates continued growth in consumer electronics and communication technology products to offset softening demand for information technology products.
Amid a continued decline in demand for PCs and laptop computers, new momentum could emerge from leading-edge trends, such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT), Pegatron chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei yesterday.
At the cusp of immense shifts and advancements, there is a lack of clear direction in defining new applications and hardware specifications in the global technology industry, which presents a challenge, as well as an opportunity, Tung said.
Photo: Chuo Yi-chun, Taipei Times
Following a decade of cyclical product upgrades, smartphones and laptops will only become more important as they take on additional roles as hubs and control panels for other connected devices in the dawning IoT era, he said.
“It might look foggy ahead, nut Pegatron’s direction will not be far off,” Tung said, adding that the company has made the necessary production automation upgrades.
Changes in hardware specifications and features remain a key demand driver, he said.
The company, which has secured orders from Apple Inc to assemble an iPhone this year, said that it would be unable to project capacity utilization and shipment volumes until two to three months before a product launch.
Regarding the company’s capacity expansion plans in India, Tung said he is optimistic about the country’s immense market, population growth and favorable terms for foreign investments.
As it did in China years ago, the company could tap into India’s growing consumption and lower manufacturing costs, he said.
Pegatron, which has spent more than a year studying the Indian market, would likely aim forthe country’s domestic market for network communications equipment, he said.
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